Experts insist on prohibiting laying-outs with cigarette packages in shops and kiosks

October 11, 2013

During theround table, organized in the hotel “Kyiv” on the tenth of October 2013,experts, deputies, representatives of control central and regional authoritiesas well as representatives of advertisement business and civil activistsdiscussed main problems and ways of execution improvement of legislation onprohibition advertisement, sponsorship and stimulating of selling of tobaccoproducts.

This roundtable was organized by NGO “Media Law Institute”, NGO “LIFE” and NGO“Telekritika”.

In spite ofprovisions of legislation of Ukraine that prohibit advertisement andstimulating selling of tobacco products, tobacco companies have found ways howto avoid law. Members of NGOs coalition “For smoke-free Ukraine” fixeda lot of facts of stimulating selling of tobacco products with the help ofspecial laying-outs of tobacco products in points of sale – kiosks, shops,supermarkets, restaurants ect.

“We see asolution of the problem that deals with stimulating selling of tobacco productsin the trade places in necessity of prohibiting laying-outs with cigarettepackages in shop-windows and check-out aisles of sale points – TarasShevchenko, the Director of Media Law Institute, noticed. – On the one hand itwill help Ukraineto be consistent in usage of head principles of WHO Framework Convention onTobacco Control, from the other hand – to increase effectiveness of legislationthat regulates advertisement, sponsorship and stimulating selling of tobaccoproducts. This rule has been already implemented by Ireland,Island, the Great Britain, Canada, Norway,New Zealand, Nepal, Panama and many others. Russia alsoadopted prohibition on demonstration of tobacco products’ packages in thepoints of sale that will come into force in 2014”.

We remindthat the Law on full prohibition of cigarettes advertisement No 3778 came intoeffect as of 16, September, 2012. During August volunteers of NGO “Media LawInstitute” monitored 151 points of sale in Kyiv. As a result of this monitoringit was discovered that tobacco companies are able to avoid Law No 3778-IV inthe part that touches prohibition of sale stimulation. Thus, in Kyiv in 80% ofcases special outfits and displays in shop-windows and near check-out lanes, aswell as separation of cigarette packages on the bright colorful background werenoticed.

Monitoring of law implementation, executed by NGOson the eve of law acting anniversary, testified 100% disappearance of straightadvertisement of cigarettes – advertisement posters, flyers, banners ect.